Jonny Gomes spent the weekend searching for a better offer, but ultimately couldn’t land a major-league deal elsewhere and has decided to settle for re-signing with the Reds.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com and John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer say Gomes’ last-minute shopping coaxed the Reds’ into giving him a major-league deal, while Mark Sheldon of MLB.com says general manager Walt Jocketty told him it was a minor-league pact. And they’re all reporting from the same clubhouse!
Whatever the case, Gomes is essentially certain to be on the Opening Day roster regardless of the contract type and coming back to Cincinnati represents his best chance for semi-regular playing time. He’ll likely platoon with the left-handed-hitting Chris Dickerson in left field and should get 300 or so trips to the plate.
He ranked second on the Reds in OPS last season, batting .267/.338/.541 with 20 homers in 314 plate appearances, but was non-tendered in December and the market for right-handed platoon bats with limited defensive ability was extremely lacking this offseason. Jermaine Dye is still looking for work and the Gomes-like Marcus Thames managed only a minor-league deal from the Yankees.UPDATE: Sheldon had it wrong. Gomes gets a big-league deal and a spot on the 40-man roster.

A lot of teams do funny promo videos during spring training. The Seattle Mariners have led the league in this category for years now, with their marketing and p.r. folks producing and a lot of game and sometimes hammy players starring in some excellent clips. They’re doing them again this year, if you’re curious.

The Milwaukee Brewers have hopped on the humor train in 2018, and their latest entry in this category of commercials is excellent. It’s their riff on “The Sandlot.”

The biggest difference: Smalls really could kill you in this one. Brett Phillips is a lot more jacked than the kid who played Scotty in the original was.